Louisiana Crab and Vegetable Hash with Vanilla Bean Sabayon
Chef Emeril Lagasse stretches a familiar dish — hash — and a dessert sauce — sabayon — to new limits. This hash is made os crab meat with sweet potatoes, celery, green pepper, onion, and sweet corn. And sabayon is transformed into a savory sauce with a surprising spice: vanilla. Chef Lagasse places a sunny-side up fried egg on each mound of hash; the eggs are optional.
Ingredients
- Louisiana Crab and Vegetable Hash
- Crab claw meat - 1 lb, fresh
- Corn - 1 ear, shucked
- Olive Oil - 1 tablespoon
- Red Bell Pepper - 1/3 cup, chopped
- Green Bell Pepper - 1/3 cup, chopped
- Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Celery - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Sweet Potato - 1/2 cup, peeled and shredded
- Leeks - 1/3 cup finely-shredded, white part only
- Garlic - 1 tablespoon, minced
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Creole Seasoning - 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla Bean Sabayon
- Egg Yolks - 2
- Shallots - 2 tablespoon, minced
- Vanilla Beans - 1, split lengthwise
- Champagne - 1/3 cup
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Eggs - 2
- Creole Seasoning - For garnish
Instructions
To make the hash: Pick through the crab meat to remove any pieces of shell and cartilage. Cut the kernels from the corn. In a large nonstick saute pan or skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the bell peppers, onion, celery, sweet potato, leeks, and corn for 4 to 5 minutes, or until slightly soft. Stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Add the crab meat and cook for 2 minutes, or until heated through. Keep warm.
To make the sauce: Place the egg yolks and shallots in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the yolks. Set the pods aside. Whisk together and add the Champagne. Whisk over simmering water for 3 to 4 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool for 3 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil and add salt and pepper.
To prepare the eggs: Heat the olive oil in a nonstick saute pan or skillet over medium-low heat. Place two 3-inch ring molds in the pan and open an egg into each mold. Spoon hot oil over the eggs in the molds; as soon as the whites of the eggs are slightly firmed, lift the molds. Spoon hot oil over the tops of the eggs again. Cook sunny-side up, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels.
To serve: Mound hash in the center of each serving plate. Place an egg on each. Spoon sabayon over the hash. Cut the vanilla bean pod pieces in half horizontally; cross two pod strips over each egg. Sprinkle the rim of each plate with Creole seasoning.
